Top allrounders in the history of Test cricket

What makes a top-class allrounder? To my way of thinking, purely in terms of statistics, a genuine high-quality allrounder is one whose batting average is above 30, and bowling average under 30, the difference between two such averages being large. A good allrounder should be able to score hundreds and bag five wickets in an innings.

There are instances where bowling averages are not below 30 even in the case of great allrounders. Two prime examples are Gary Sobers and Jacques Kallis who are arguably the best, at least in terms of statistics. But their batting averages are very high, way beyond those of other great allrounders. Conversely, some great allrounders do not have batting averages above 30, but their bowling averages are brilliant. This is true of Richard Hadlee and Alan Davidson.

They other yardstick to rate allrounders statistically is by arriving at an allrounder’s quotient, that is, dividing the batting average by the bowling average.

Using these yardsticks, since the commencement of Test cricket in 1877 till date, the top four allrounders among those who have scored at least 1,000 runs and captured 100 wickets are: 1. Gary Sobers, 2. Jacques Kallis, 3. Imran Khan, and 4. Keith Miller. In terms of statistics the difference between Sobers and Kallis is almost a dead heat. Imran and Miller are not too far behind, both being very accomplished, and often explosive, batsmen and devastating fast bowlers. Sobers was a multi-faceted genius with a brilliant batting record, as good as anyone except Bradman. Kallis was definitely a batting allrounder, an accumulator of runs, and a back-up paceman. But Imran and Miller were true-blooded thoroughbred allrounders, embodying the very definition of a cricket allrounder.     

Trailing close behind this great quartet are some world class allrounders, though the next three names, Shaun Pollock, Trevor Goddard and Tony Grieg, might cause a bit of surprise to some. But a second look at their records would leave no doubt that they are indeed top-quality and genuine allrounders.

Richard Hadlee, Monty Noble and Alan Davidson make up the top ten. Hadlee was a bowling allrounder whose batting abilities flowered as his career advanced. Noble was probably the first great allrounder. Davidson was perhaps the greatest left-arm paceman along with Wasim Akram. In recent times, Akram has been lauded, and rightly so, but Davidson was in no way inferior and had a bowling action so exquisite that everyone wanted to emulate it.

The next six are those with allrounder's quotient also above 1, that is, with batting average higher than bowling average, and they too qualify among the very best. They are Ian Botham, Chris Cairns, Shakib Al Hasan, Wilfred Rhodes, Kapil Dev and Trevor Bailey. Botham and Kapil Dev complete the great quartet of the seventies, eighties and early nineties, possibly the modern golden age of cricket. But for injuries, Cairns would certainly have ranked even higher. Shakib is definitely the pride of Bangladesh and poised to go places. Rhodes’ longevity ensured that he played alongside and against three of the true greats of batting, Grace, Hobbs and Bradman, and he built up a formidable record. Bailey rendered yeomen service to England in the 1950s, and helped re-assert pride in the post-Bradman era.

The next batch, which narrowly missed the coveted allrounder’s quotient of 1, comprises Irfan Pathan, Maurice Tate, Vinoo Mankad, Andrew Flintoff and Wasim Akram. Pathan first promised great things with the ball, then with the bat, but for some reason did not realise his true potential. Maurice Tate was one of the finest fast-medium bowlers, precursor to Alec Bedser, and Akram was a true great of left-arm fast bowling, successor to Davidson. Vinoo Mankad and Andrew Flintoff were genuine allrounders and could well have figured higher but for a few quirks of statistics. Mankad could win a match with bat or ball, or both, and few Tests have been named after a player as was the Lord’s Test of 1952, even though his team lost. Flintoff was explosive with bat and ball but ultimately his big frame proved too unwieldy for top-class cricket any longer than it did. It is pertinent to point out here that spinners are at a slight disadvantage while rating allrounders statistically as their bowling averages are generally higher than pace bowlers, and this showed in Mankad’s case.

The Australians, Ray Lindwall and Richie Benaud come next, one a great fast bowler and the other a great leg-spinner, both very handy with the bat.

Bringing up the rear in the list of quality Test allrounders are Daniel Vettori, Ravi Shastri and George Giffen. Vettori was probably the finest left-arm spinner of present times who always added value with the bat. Shastri was a fighter to the core, whose strong mind made up what he lacked in terms of pure natural ability. Giffen is the only one in our list to play Test matches solely in the 19^th century, and for much of the early part of his career wickets were of poor quality. But the disadvantage that he suffered as a batsman was nullified by what he gained as a batsman. In that sense conditions get neutralised while assessing allrounders, but equally our yardstick of allrounder’s quotient is not always the ultimate test.            

The top allrounders in the history of Test cricket in terms of quotient are :

1.  Gary Sobers (West Indies) ….. Test career span 1954-1974,  Tests 93,  Highest score 365*,  Runs 8,032,   Average 57.78,  Hundreds 26,  Wickets 235,  Average 34.03,  Best bowling 6/73,  5 Wickets / Innings 6,  Catches 109,  Quotient 1.697.

2.  Jacques Kallis (South Africa) ….. Test career span 1995-2013,  Tests 166,  Highest score 224,  Runs 13,289,   Average 55.37,  Hundreds 45,  Wickets 292,  Average 32.65,  Best bowling 6/54,  5 Wickets / Innings 5,  Catches 200,  Quotient 1.695.

3.  Imran Khan (Pakistan) ….. Test career span 1971-1992,  Tests 88,  Highest score 136,  Runs 3,807,   Average 37.69,  Hundreds 6,  Wickets 362,  Average 22.81,  Best bowling 8/58,  5 Wickets / Innings 23,  Catches 28,  Quotient 1.65.

4.  Keith Miller (Australia) ….. Test career span 1946-1956,  Tests 55,  Highest score 147,  Runs 2,958,   Average 36.97,  Hundreds 7,  Wickets 170,  Average 22.97,  Best bowling 7/60,  5 Wickets / Innings 7,  Catches 38,  Quotient 1.60.

5.  Shaun Pollock (South Africa) ….. Test career span 1995-2008,  Tests 108,  Highest score 111,  Runs 3,781,  Average 32.31,  Hundred 2,  Wickets 421,  Average 23.11,  Best bowling 7/87,  5 Wickets / Innings 16,  Catches 72,  Quotient 1.39.

6.  Trevor Goddard (South Africa) ….. Test career span 1955-1970,  Tests 41,  Highest score 112,  Runs 2,516,   Average 34.46,  Hundred 1,  Wickets 123,  Average 26.22,  Best bowling 6/53,  5 Wickets / Innings 5,  Catches 48,  Quotient 1.31.

7.  Tony Grieg (England) ….. Test career span 1972-1977,  Tests 58,  Highest score 148,  Runs 3,599,   Average 40.43,  Hundreds 8,  Wickets 141,  Average 32.20,  Best bowling 8/86,  5 Wickets / Innings 6,  Catches 87,  Quotient 1.25.

8.  Richard Hadlee (New Zealand) ….. Test career span 1973-1990,  Tests 86,  Highest score 151*,  Runs 3,124,   Average 27.16,  Hundreds 2,  Wickets 431,  Average 22.29,  Best bowling 9/52,  5 Wickets / Innings 36,  Catches 39,  Quotient 1.218.

9.  Monty Noble (Australia) ….. Test career span 1898-1909,  Tests 42,  Highest score 133,  Runs 1,997,   Average 30.25,  Hundred 1,  Wickets 121,  Average 25.00,  Best bowling 7/71,  5 Wickets / Innings 9,  Catches 26,  Quotient 1.210.

10.  Alan Davidson (Australia) ….. Test career span 1953-1963,  Tests 44,  Highest score 80,  Runs 1,328,   Average 24.59,  Hundreds 0,  Wickets 186,  Average 20.53,  Best bowling 7/93,  5 Wickets / Innings 14,  Catches 42,  Quotient 1.19.

11.  Ian Botham (England) ….. Test career span 1977-1992,  Tests 102,  Highest score 208,  Runs 5,200,   Average 33.54,  Hundreds 14,  Wickets 383,  Average 28.40,  Best bowling 8/34,  5 Wickets / Innings 27,  Catches 120,  Quotient 1.18.

12.  Chris Cairns (New Zealand) ….. Test career span 1989-2004,  Tests 62,  Highest score 158,  Runs 3,320,   Average 33.53,  Hundreds 5,  Wickets 218,  Average 29.40,  Best bowling 7/27,  5 Wickets / Innings 13,  Catches 14,  Quotient 1.14.

13.  Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) ….. Test career span 2007-2013,  Tests 32,  Highest score 144,  Runs 2,105,   Average 36.92,  Hundreds 2,  Wickets 113,  Average 32.62,  Best bowling 7/36,  5 Wickets / Innings 10,  Catches 14,  Quotient 1.13.

14.  Wilfred Rhodes (England) ….. Test career span 1899-1930,  Tests 58,  Highest score 179,  Runs 2,325,   Average 30.19,  Hundreds 2,  Wickets 127,  Average 26.96,  Best bowling 8/68,  5 Wickets / Innings 6,  Catches 60,  Quotient 1.11.

15.  Kapil Dev (India) ….. Test career span 1978-1994,  Tests 131,  Highest score 163,  Runs 5,248,   Average 31.05,  Hundreds 8,  Wickets 434,  Average 29.64,  Best bowling 9/83,  5 Wickets / Innings 23,  Catches 64,  Quotient 1.04.

16.  Trevor Bailey (England) ….. Test career span 1949-1959,  Tests 61,  Highest score 134*,  Runs 2,290,   Average 29.74,  Hundred 1,  Wickets 132,  Average 29.21,  Best bowling 7/34,  5 Wickets / Innings 5,  Catches 32,  Quotient 1.01.

17.  Irfan Pathan (India) ….. Test career span 2003-2008,  Tests 29,  Highest score 102,  Runs 1,105,   Average 31.57,  Hundreds 1,  Wickets 100,  Average 32.26,  Best bowling 7/59,  5 Wickets / Innings 7,  Catches 8,  Quotient 0.978.

18.  Maurice Tate (England) ….. Test career span 1924-1935,  Tests 39,  Highest score 100*,  Runs 1,198,   Average 25.48,  Hundred 1,  Wickets 155,  Average 26.16,  Best bowling 6/42,  5 Wickets / Innings 7,  Catches 11,  Quotient 0.974.

19.  Vinoo Mankad (India) ….. Test career span 1946-1959,  Tests 44,  Highest score 231,  Runs 2,109,   Average 31.47,  Hundreds 5,  Wickets 162,  Average 32.32,  Best bowling 8/52,  5 Wickets / Innings 8,  Catches 33,  Quotient 0.973.

20.  Andrew Flintoff (England) ….. Test career span 1998-2009,  Tests 79,  Highest score 167,  Runs 3,845,   Average 31.77,  Hundreds 5,  Wickets 226,  Average 32.78,  Best bowling 5/58,  5 Wickets / Innings 3,  Catches 52,  Quotient 0.96.

21.  Wasim Akram (Pakistan) ….. Test career span 1985-2002,  Tests 104,  Highest score 257*,  Runs 2,898,   Average 22.64,  Hundreds 3,  Wickets 414,  Average 23.62,  Best bowling 7/119,  5 Wickets / Innings 25,  Catches 44,  Quotient 0.95.

22.  Ray Lindwall (Australia) ….. Test career span 1946-1960,  Tests 61,  Highest score 118,  Runs 1,502,   Average 21.15,  Hundreds 2,  Wickets 228,  Average 23.03,  Best bowling 7/38,  5 Wickets / Innings 12,  Catches 26,  Quotient 0.91.

23.  Richie Benaud (Australia) ….. Test career span 1952-1964,  Tests 63,  Highest score 122,  Runs 2,201,   Average 24.45,  Hundreds 3,  Wickets 248,  Average 27.03,  Best bowling 7/72,  5 Wickets / Innings 16,  Catches 65,  Quotient 0.90.

24.  Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) ….. Test career span 1997-2012,  Tests 112,  Highest score 140,  Runs 4,516,   Average 30.10,  Hundreds 6,  Wickets 360,  Average 34.42,  Best bowling 7/87,  5 Wickets / Innings 20,  Catches 58,  Quotient 0.874.

25.  Ravi Shastri (India) ….. Test career span 1981-1992,  Tests 80,  Highest score 206,  Runs 3,830,   Average 35.79,  Hundreds 11,  Wickets 151,  Average 40.96,  Best bowling 5/75,  5 Wickets / Innings 2,  Catches 36,  Quotient 0.873.

26.  George Giffen (Australia) ….. Test career span 1881-1896,  Tests 31,  Highest score 161,  Runs 1,238,   Average 23.25,  Hundred 1,  Wickets 103,  Average 27.09,  Best bowling 7/117,  5 Wickets / Innings 7,  Catches 24,  Quotient 0.85.

This is how great Test allrounders have been ranked in terms of pure statistics. Some of these might not be allrounders in the true cricketing sense of the term, but most are, and few would disagree that there have been no better allrounders in Test cricket. To rate them using other parameters comes within the scope of books. Having said that, I think the best allrounders in Test cricket are 1. Sobers, 2. Imran, 3. Miller, 4. Botham, 5. Kapil Dev and 6. Hadlee for their sheer brilliance and their ability to turn matches.

(Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).